The Supreme Court of the United States has struck down the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, ruling that the president lacked authority to introduce import duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
According to the Court, the US Constitution assigns powers over taxes and tariffs to Congress, not to the president. While Trump had justified the measures as “vital for the country’s economic security,” the justices determined that IEEPA — legislation designed to address national emergencies — cannot be used to impose generalized tariff measures.
The administration had projected that the tariffs would generate “trillions of dollars” in revenue over the coming decade. In the absence of updated official data after 14 December, economists at the Penn-Wharton Budget Model estimated that IEEPA-based tariffs had already generated more than 175 billion dollars in revenue — a sum that may now need to be reimbursed.
THREE CASES, ONE CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION
The litigation consolidated three separate cases: one brought by toy manufacturer Learning Resources; another filed by the Liberty Justice Center on behalf of several small businesses, including wine distributor VOS Selections; and a third initiated by twelve US states. The case reached the nation’s highest court after lower courts had already ruled against the president, finding that he had exceeded his executive authority. Trump responded immediately, calling the decision “a disgrace” while announcing that he had “a backup plan.”
ITALIAN AGRICULTURE BETWEEN INSTABILITY AND HOPE
The ruling has sent ripples through Italy’s agri-food sector. Massimiliano Giansanti, President of farmers’ association Confagricoltura, described the decision as unexpected: “This news comes as a surprise. It is a strong decision by the US Supreme Court, which dismantles the entire legal framework on which President Trump’s tariffs were based. All this generates profound instability at a time when we need certainty and have begun a path with our American importers. I believe and hope that an agreement can quickly be reached with the President of the United States to clarify which instruments he may use with respect to the arrangements defined so far. If, on the contrary, Trump intends to remove the tariffs, as was previously the case between the EU and the US, this would obviously be highly desirable for us European producers.”
WINE SECTOR: RELIEF TEMPERED BY FEARS OF NEW DUTIES
The position of Italian wine producers’ association Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) is more nuanced. Its President, Lamberto Frescobaldi, commented: “Paradoxically, the wine sector cannot celebrate the Supreme Court’s rejection of the legitimacy of the tariffs. A more than likely reintroduction of duties through alternative legal avenues is looming, combined with the significant risk of uncertainty that this decision may generate in trade relations between Europe and the United States. Considering the damage inflicted on the sector in recent months, we hope the current stalemate can be resolved quickly so as not to further disrupt commercial and monetary dynamics.”
According to UIV’s Observatory, the second half of the year has proven challenging for Italian wine in the United States, due both to tariffs and to a longer-term contraction in consumption habits.
Export projections to the US point to a 2025 year-end decline of -9%, equivalent to a contraction of approximately €177 million compared to the previous year — including an estimated -€225 million in the second half of the year versus the same period in 2024.
The United States remains the leading destination for Italian wines, with a 2024 value of €1.93 billion, accounting for 24% of total exports. This exposure makes wine one of the Italian sectors most vulnerable to trade tensions with Washington.